Unwavering Support

Saturday, October 06, 2012

It was a heady experience finally getting a Popular Blog Award after three years of regular blogging. Thanks At Goal & Maintaining Team for highlighting me! And then a second award a week later without even being highlighted. That blog was selected by SP and e-mailed out to a whole lot of people. (One of my SparkFriends claimed it went to 1.5 million people, but I can't confirm that.)

I took the time to thank many of the 185 people who commented on that blog. Not a bad thing to do.

But you know, I often don't thank you who take the time to comment on my mundane, day-to-day, not so exciting blogs. Well, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. I owe you who read my daily musings so much more than those who just stopped in to see what all the fuss was about. If I don't thank you on each comment it is not because I don't appreciate it. I truly do.

It helps me a great deal to write blogs of all types. I write to celebrate small achievements, like swimming a whole lap of American crawl; running farther than I've ever run before; trying a new recipe or food. I write to share disappointments like when the scale is up more than I think it should be; or when I can't sleep and it is triggering hunger; or when I fall off my bike, fall on my treadmill, and fall down on the curb. (Note to self: no more falling.) I write about my wise choices and my not so wise choices, my struggles and my victories. I write to set goals and usually remember to report the outcome. I write to declare how great a healthy lifestyle can be. I write to commiserate on how challenging a healthy lifestyle can be.

And you, my SparkFriends, never, never let me down. When I need to be picked up, you encourage me. When I need someone to say, "good going," I can count on you. When I am facing an issue, you have great suggestions. And in your own blogs you model living as I want to and share solutions I need.

For me SparkPeople, and especially my SparkFriends, are the most consistently positive force in my life. I mean, I adore my grandkids. They make me laugh often. But they will occasionally scream in my ear and/or kick me in the shins. SparkFriends are only kind, caring, supportive, and wise.

So most of the time, almost all the time, I am not writing blogs for a mass group of people or to win an award. I'm writing to express what I need to express especially for those few of you who understand. Thank you for your unwavering support!

AQUAGIRL08
Thank you for sharing your blogs with us, Marsha! Sometimes when I read about the struggles that you have, I know that I'm not alone. It also makes me happy to share in your celebrations so keep those blogs coming!!! 1524 days ago

MAYBER
spark friends are great and we are here to give support encouragment and inspiration and you certainly do all that love reading all the blogs have yet to write my first oneon the average write 10 to 20 snail mail and email letters each month to friends and family the snail mail goes to elderly ( am quickly aproaching that group myself) who need not write back to me do it in memory of my mother who loved to get mail but was unable to answer one day at a time1525 days ago

GABY1948
I also agree it just cannot be done. I never expect anyone to come by personally and thank me...I don't go out and thank others either but I hope they know I appreciate them because I comment on theirs...you see a couple years ago, I got to a point that I was team co-leader of 4 teams and doing all the extra stuff that I thought was required and it got so overwhelmin and took so much of my valued exerecise/active time that I just quit spark...for a year! I don't want to get to that point again...all that said, don't ever feel obligated to come and thank me...you are awesome and I am so glad that you got the recognition TWICE for what you do! 1525 days ago

ONEKIDSMOM
I totally "get" where you're coming from today, Marsha, having been through the "15 minutes of Spark fame" experience relatively recently myself! It's hard to answer every comment, and I don't expect folks to. Only 24 hours in a day, and of those, we should be limiting our time on the screens.

So... Spark on! Write what you need to express... I kind of like seeing the day to day activities of my spark buds and how we all keep keeping on. Oh, and NO falling during the HM... for either of us!